Pandora Box
by Meitantei4869
Summary: Everyone in Rakuzan loves Akashi. Everyone. Except a certain girl named Kurohara. She hates Akashi like how Haru hates people hating water. But, one day Akashi shows interest to her and her whole life takes a 360 degree spin. (cliche shoujo parts here and there /shot)
1. Trigger

_**Disclaimer: everything belongs to their rightful owners.  
Note: This is something that just came from the top of my head and I can't get the idea out like- It's been haunting me even in my dreams ;A; -so expect some parts being a little "huwat" xD  
**_

* * *

_Once, in a faraway wonderland, there was a white cat who ruled over everything there. The white cat was perfect in many ways. It had beautiful fur and shining eyes. All of the cats in the wonderland admired the white cat, even though the white cat was a tad bit arrogant and over-confident. All, except a lone black cat who loathed the white cat for its personality._

* * *

Piercing heterochromatic eyes, one red one gold. Scarlet hair that matches that ruby eye of his. Aura that intimidates anyone that sees him. That was him. That was Akashi Seijuro. A person deeply respected and feared by all for he demands absoluteness. He always wears a cold composure wherever he is and despite his young age, his maturity is that of an adult. Smart, good-looking and athletic. These points makes him ultimately popular especially with the girls.

"kyaaa! Look, look, look! Akashi-kun's so handsome in this magazine~"

"but he always looks handsome, right?~"

"I agree, I agree!"

Hearing the girls squealing over 'Monthly Basuke'— which they rarely even buy —right beside her, a girl with the name Kurohara Itsuki let out an irritated sigh as she ran her fingers through her rather messy short hair, her dark blue orbs glaring lightly at the group. Unlike the other girls, she didn't like the redhead at all. In all honesty she hates him. And the reason was simple.

_He doesn't care of others' feelings_

* * *

_"um..Akashi-kun…"_

_A young girl timidly approached the redhead, her heart pounding so hard it just might burst. From the shadows, two girls who coincidentally came upon the scene observed the two, curious on how it will go._

_"sorry for suddenly calling you out…A-Actually, I- I have liked you for a long time ago! Please go out with me!"_

_A declaration which required tons of courage to let it slip out of her lips and as if to confirm the fact, her face was beat red and in that small beating heart of hers was hope that he'd accept her sincere confession._

_But, in an instant, that hope was shattered._

_"I apologize but I don't want to waste my time with someone like you"_

_Her eyes widened at his words, at how cold they sounded. The girl looked up at the male just to see him look down on her with his emotionless heterochromatic eyes._

_"if you may, I will excuse myself now"_

_Saying that, the redhead walked off in a dignified way, leaving the girl to cry silently alone in the hallway, the two girls who were hiding left their spot to consult her. One of them stared at the path the redhead walked away, hate filled in her eyes. Under that honorable façade was a demon with no feelings._

* * *

That was an incident from few days back and it was still carved in the mind of the girl. Though his reputation was someone that would reject a confession with the harshest way was known all over school, there are still thousands of girls in Rakuzan High liking and confessing to him.

"tsk. All of them are idiots…"

Kurohara scowled. It was just her luck to be placed in the same class as the guy she hates, accompanied by his fangirls. Thank god a friend of hers sometimes stopped by her class to help keep her sane— though she was also a fangirl but not a hardcore one.

"now, now Icchan…" her friend, Mizutani Haruka said leaning against her fist. "I know what he did to Shimazaki-san was cruel but you don't have to wear that face whenever he's around or whenever people talk about him. It's a waste of that face of yours"

"tsk" Kurohara clicked her tongue. "It's my freedom to use whatever expression I want…and how can I not wear it? I still haven't forgiven for what that bastard did. He didn't do it to only Shimazaki, y'know"

Mizutani just shook her head when her friend growled at her own statement. Waving her hand as a dismissal, the brunette sighed in defeat.

"alright, alright, I get it…Sheesh, calm down"

"sorry…"

"my, speak of the devil…It's Akashi-kun~"

In an instant, the scowl on Kurohara's face turned into a worse one as Akashi made his way into the class— back from a short talk with a teacher —and sat down on his seat behind hers. The redhead then proceeded to read some kind of complex book to pass the time while the teacher was out due to a meeting. He was requested by the teacher to keep the class under control and well, he didn't need much effort to do so. His presence was just enough.

"by the way," Mizutani turned back to her friend, ignoring the scowl. "heard about the stories of the art room?"

"no..tell me, Haruka"

"okay~ this is one of our school's seven mysteries. Once, a girl was walking down the hall when she noticed that the art room's door was unlocked. It was after school hours so normally it should be but this time it wasn't. Filled with curiosity, she entered the room and switched on the lights— since it was dark and all —to see if someone was in there. Y'know how some of the seniors are. They like to nap in places like that at times."

Mizutani said with a playful huff then continued, unaware that there was an extra pair of ears listening.

"she asked in a timid but loud voice;— _'is anyone here?'_ Of course, no one answered. Taking that someone just forgot to lock the doors, the girl started to walk out but then she saw it…."

"it?.."

"a packet filled with a white powder of some sort. As she couldn't tell what it was by just looking from where she was, she picked up the packet to get a closer look but then suddenly, the lights went out. It was not like it was a blackout or anything so it was weird. She could barely see anything in the darkness so she went to switch on the lights but then suddenly, one of the clay projects a class was working on came flying towards her and crashed just a few centimeters away!"

"she screamed and bolted towards the door— releasing her hold on the packet —but when she tried to open it, it was locked. Thankfully some teachers that were still around heard her screaming for help inside the room and they let her out. Everything was then fine for the girl— though she received some mental damage —until a week after that incident…"

The brunette closed in her distance with the ravenette's, wearing an expression of total fear.

"they found her body cut into pieces in a garbage can behind an apartment."

Her blue eyes widened at the information and she gave a look of disbelief to her friend.

"The police don't even know who killed her. Another guy experienced the same thing and was killed in the same brutal way. Since then, no one dares to approach the art room after school hours. They don't want to get killed after all…"

"well? Whaddya think?"

Mizutani asked with a cheerful smile accompanied with a laugh causing Kurohara to stare weirdly at her. Seriously, who tells a horror story then finishes while laughing?

"sounds fake"

"it's legit, I say"

"_you say_"

"Icchan…."

The brunette sighed. Kurohara wasn't a believer of anything related to horror though she spends 90% of her free time watching horror movies. Probably because of her not believing them, she finds the stories more enjoyable. Perhaps.

"it's just some kind of rumor people spread around for no reason. Nothing else"

"quite some confidence you got there, Icchan. What if you're the next to get caught up with the school's horror event?~"

"I highly doubt that"

"geez you're not fun at all…"

Kurohara let a fond smile form on her features seeing Mizutani pout cutely in response to her reactions. It was like seeing your younger sister sulking because she didn't get a toy she wanted so badly_. _Then, that smile faded as her expression turned into a serious one.

_That rumor…_

_There's something about it…_

* * *

"Kurohara, could you return these art materials to the art room for me?" A teacher asked as the students still in class left to head back home. "I have an important appointment so I can't do it. Can I leave it to you?"

The ravenette nodded and accepted the keys the teacher gave before he rushed off. Twirling the keys with her finger and holding the art materials in her other hand, Kurohara nonchalantly walked off to the art room, not noticing a pair of red & gold staring at her as she left.

Shortly after she started walking to the art room, the rain started to fall. Seeing this, Kurohara frowned, As much as she liked the rain, she didn't like the fact that it chose to fall heavily today. The weather was still considerably cold though it was almost April so the rain would make it freezing. Mother Nature isn't working right, was what she thought. She didn't like the cold that much.

Putting aside her annoyance, the girl inserted the key into its slot once she reached her destination to discover that the door was already unlocked. An eyebrow raised as to question the reason why the usually locked art room door was, well, unlocked. In sync with the thunder, Mizutani's voice which narrated the rumours surrounding the room echoed in her head.

_…the rumours aren't even real. What am I getting nervous about.._

Unconsciously taking a deep breath, Kurohara entered the art room, shoving the keys in her pocket and instantly switched on the lights, proceeding to glance around the room before returning the materials to its rightful place on a tall shelf, making her have to stand on her toes due to her rather short height. She muttered a "damn my height" under her breath and sighed when the materials _finally_ got on the shelf.

"now then..let's return to the room, shall we?"

She hummed to herself, walking towards the exit when something on the floor caught her eye.

It was a white, powdered substance.

_"a packet filled with a white powder of some sort"_

"…"

Kurohara bent down to get a closer look at the powder then gently brushed her pinky on it, causing it to be on her finger. She brought her pinky closer to her face to examine the substance when the lights suddenly went out. Her body slightly flinched in surprise when it turned dark and the ravenette instantly stood up from impulse.

"a blackout..?"

She thought out loud as her darkened blue orbs looked out the window. The rain was still falling heavily so the possibility of it tripping the breaker was there. A sigh and she decided to forget about the powder, since it was probably something from one of the art materials, and head over to the library. Though she thought so, a part of her was contradicting her conclusion.

_Did their school…even use those kind of materials?_

A loud crash caused her train of thoughts to be cut off and she whipped her head to the source of the sound, only to discover that one of the sculptures class 1-C was working on had fallen onto the ground, breaking into a million pieces. The head, somehow the only part still intact, was 'staring' straight at her with its creepy eyes. A shiver ran down her spine seeing the head of the sculpture and rushed towards the exit, not wanting to stay another second in there.

Unfortunately, when she tried to open the door, it wouldn't budge. A few more desperate tries to force it open but none avail. The raven haired girl let out an exasperated sigh and inspected the door, slightly squinting as she could hardly see in the dark, to see if there was something blocking it to prevent it from opening.

It was locked.

Kurohara blinked in confusion. How did the door end up locked? She didn't even lock it and it was unlocked in the first place…

_Well, if it's just locked then I can open it—_

Sudden realization fell upon her when she reached in her pocket to discover that the keys to the art room, which was suppose to be in that pocket, wasn't there. She dug through her pocket, trying to find the keys so that she could leave but they weren't in there. Seeing that there was a possibility of it to have fallen down, she started to search on the floor but still couldn't find it.

"that's weird…"

**_"get out…"_**

Her body backed up in impulse when an object, possibly another sculpture, came crashing down towards her. The girl's eyes widened as they stared at the pieces of the item, trying to process what had just happened. How on earth did the sculpture crash here? All artworks are placed _away_ from the entrance where she was so how…

_And, whose voice—_

"kya!"

Another piece of fragile artwork crashed just inches away from her, prompting her to let out a scream as her body automatically curled up into a defensive position. One by one, the sculptures and anything breakable crashed down on the floor around the female. The frightened girl shut her eyes tightly and covered her ears while in her defensive position as to block out the ear piercing sound of the crashing.

Her mind was desperately trying to figure out a way to escape from the room but the fear of what was occurring prevented her from thinking straight. It was a first for her to feel _this_ afraid and her heart was pounding rapidly. No matter how much she told herself to calm down, she just couldn't. The situation was an unexplainable one and humans fear the unknown.

All of a sudden, the room fell silent.

At that moment, Kurohara felt a strong hand grip her upper arm and pulled her up then out of the room, her eyes instantly opening, surprised from the action. She spun around to see who was the one who had came and her eyes widened to its full extent the moment she saw the person.

"really…to think that you would get caught in one of the school's seven mysteries.."

His heterochromatic eyes looked down at her and the cold expression he had always had looked colder at the moment, in contrast of the warmth his hand was emitting.

"Aka..shi.."

_Why is this person…_

* * *

**_Thanks for reading!_**


	2. Interest

___**Disclaimer: everything belongs to their rightful owners.  
Note: Thanks to those who followed, favourited and reviewed to this fanfic that just came randomly from the top of my head like /sob I'm so happy- Thank youuuu- ;w; Oh, I made slight changes to Chapter 1 so before continuing on this chapter you might want to go back to the last chap? sorry- ;; Once again, thank you and enjoy!**_

* * *

_The white cat knew of the existence of the black cat, and it was unpleased of the fact the black cat didn't respect it like how the other cats did in the wonderland but the white cat was also intrigued by the cat who wouldn't see it as a superior being. The white cat then decided to secretly observe the black cat from afar for a period of time, before choosing its next move._

* * *

_Why is this person…_

The warmth she felt from his hand was a comfortable and soothing one, compared to the icy cold gaze he was giving her. It was a wonder why she felt so relieved even though the person that came was the person she hated so much. Unable to find a word to utter, Kurohara lowered her gaze from the redhead male, holding back the frown which was just begging to form on her features. She wouldn't want to be rude to someone who helped her, right? Even if it was him.

Akashi gave the same silent treatment to her as he released his hold on her arm and glanced over to the dark art room, his calculative eyes analyzing the whole area. There was nothing unusual about the room, excluding the broken pieces of fragile sculptures and its creepy head which stared their way.

"Kurohara"

"..what?"

A pause from the male caused an eyebrow to raise and just when she was to question him, her words were ceased when he continued his sentence, not a shred of emotion in his tone, which definitely irked the girl.

"you're crying."

He stated, not even including any doubt in it. To him, it was a first to see her show any emotion other than her frown. The girl blinked and turned to the side, a click of the tongue following suit, as if has became a certain habit ever since she entered the school. It couldn't be helped really, considering the number of fangirls that were available.

"I'm not."

"there is no use denying."

"you— oi!"

Not bothering to react to her shout, the redhead walked off, thinking of the rumor of the art room. If the rumors weren't just a random coincidence, he thought, then the girl's life would be in _grave danger_. His mismatched eyes gazed out the window in the hallway, the gloomy sky was as if telling that more misfortune was about to come.

_Perhaps a little research is necessary…_

Deciding on that, Akashi headed off to the student council, planning to go through a few files from the past years. He should be able to find something from those files. It was a good thing that he was the student council president as it gave him free access to the files in the council. It may sound like abusing his power but to him, it was more like taking the opportunity that is given on a silver platter.

* * *

Accompanied by only the sound of rain still pouring heavily outside, the young teen silently flipped through a file, a small pile of similar ones stacked beside him on the large meeting table. It hasn't been long since he started and he had already acquired quite a number of useful information such as the date of when the first incident of the art room happened and the victims who were caught up in them.

_To keep records of the victims as precise as the police, as expected from Rakuzan…_

It was perhaps because the school needed the info for future reference or evidence that the police even let them have this confidential stats. It was also perhaps because they didn't want anyone else knowing about the case in details other than what has been shown on the news that the files were hidden in a compartment that was unknown— until now —to Akashi. It took a lot of searching to discover it, even for him.

The male let out a rather tired sigh as he pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling a headache coming up for reading so much complex details on a rainy day. Though it was something he was considerably used to, it still gave some fatigue to him. He leaned back on the chair and looked at the remaining pile he had yet to go through.

To see through a mystery that the even the police had yet to solve, a normal person would have already thought it's impossible. But, this was Akashi Seijuro. Someone who clearly doesn't make it on the normal list. It wont be hard for him to be able to solve it. Playing the role of a detective wasn't something he preferred but perhaps, it will then put a rest to the rumors which have been worrying the teachers and students. Think of it as a task he is performing as the student council member.

Akashi resumed his research, wanting to get to the truth as he can be rather the impatient one and as he suspects that if he doesn't hurry, there would be another victim to one of the school's seven mysteries. It would tarnish the school's reputation and as the president of the student and he wouldn't want that, right? And, the person who is possibly the next target is a person that he had gained quite the interest to. To have a piece from the chessboard removed is an inconvenience after all.

"my.." he uttered after the long period of silence, eyes focused on a certain article in the file he was holding. "it seems that _they_ are really behind it after all.."

A cunning smirk slowly formed on his face, satisfied that he was right, not like it was the first time. _Because I always win, I am always right_. His favourite phrase, as it is as accurate as it could ever be. It wasn't a phrase to talk big about himself, but rather to state a fact.

A fact that he is an absolute being whose words must be obeyed.

That is who Akashi Seijuro, former captain of the famous Generation of Miracles, is.

* * *

"The rain isn't lifting at all…"

Kurohara sighed as she looked out the window from her dorm room, leaning back on the chair she was sitting on, putting aside the manga she was reading on a desk, already changed from her uniform into a long sleeved grey sweater with black pants. She was thankful that she didn't have a roommate because if she did, the roommate would probably suffer from what she was currently feeling. Her mood was already destroyed thanks to the certain incident in the art room and also thanks to the fact that Akashi-sama had seen her vulnerable state.

"_you cried."_

His words echoed through her head and wouldn't go away. What irked her more was that it was true that she had indeed unconsciously let some tears flow from the extreme fear felt. The girl hated having to have shown a weakness to someone because, according to her, it would ruined the effort she had put to seem like a strong person. Of course, it was all just a façade. _A façade she had put on ever since_ _that day_…

Heaving another sigh, she folded her arms and let them rest on the desk in front of her then placed her head between them, snuggling into them before dozing off with the pitter patter serving as a lullaby for her. A nap might help her calm down, and perhaps figure out a thing or two about the incident in the art room.

* * *

Akashi walked at a rather fast pace towards the art room, what happened before already reported to the teachers. A "I will handle this matter" was also added which gave a feeling of relief to the teachers. If it's Akashi-kun, the matter would definitely be solved— was what they thought. And it's true, really. If there was one person in the school that could be depended on a hundred percent, it would be Akashi.

The door of the art room was slid open and he entered the room, instantly turning on the lights to brighten up the dark room. The broken pieces of artwork were still scattered on the floor as no one had come to clean it yet. Eyes filled with no emotions scanned the place before crouching down to get a closer look at the same white substance that Kurohara and the other victims had seen before attacked.

"this confirms it then."

He muttered, standing back up straight. Ruby and gold glanced over to a lone, dark corner of the room before the lights were switched off and he exited the room, briefly peeking through the small crack of the door before shutting it completely. Another presence, he had felt, just silently observing him from the shadows. He _knew_ who was the other presence in the room but chose to say nothing at the moment.

The pieces had to be in place before the game could start. Analyzing then making a move, that was a life principal that Akashi had followed since the start. It is like a game of chess. Plan your moves carefully, and the game is yours. Control the pawns with precision and taking down the king would be an easy task. Life is, after all, just a game.

_White has already made a move.. Now, what is your next move, pieces of black?_

* * *

The first thing that came to sight was the darkened sky without any sound of the pitter patter from before, the clock showing 8pm. Kurohara got up from her position, feeling cramps here and there for taking a nap with her head on the table for long time, and stared confusingly at her open window, a cool breeze blowing through it.

_Strange.._ She mused. _I'm sure it was closed before…_

Feeling a little creeped out, she quickly closed the windows, securing it with its lock and making sure that it couldn't open before closing the curtains. Kurohara then looked around her room to see if anything had been taken away, at the thought that it might be a thief. Thankfully, everything was still there and she let out a rather relieved sigh but the relief disappeared in a flash when a note placed conveniently on her desk caught her eye.

An eyebrow was raised and she picked up the note, eyes widening slightly and mouth parting just a little once she read the content, words written in bloody red.

_**INTRUDERS WILL BE DISPOSED**_

Her grip on the piece of paper tightened and her eyes were glued onto the small item, mind trying to figure out the meaning and the reason of the note, as well as the person who had broke into her room to place that note on her desk. The girl closed her eyes, taking a deep breath, and placed herself on the edge of her bed, the list of people possible of committing the break in going through her head.

Seniors, juniors, classmates. Anyone she knew or had come across in school were suspected. Though nothing was taken, Kurohara didn't like the fact that someone had intruded into her 'territory'. And that was ironic, considering how the note was calling _her_ an intruder. Akashi was also in the group of suspicion but something inside of her decided that he would never do such a thing, no matter how much of an arrogant prick he was.

The room was silent as the forest, the girl deep in thought, thinking of all the possibilities there were. A prank from someone? Harassment? A threat? The number of things she got from movies started popping into her mind one by one, though most were a miss, she concluded.

Her thoughts were the cut off by the sound of the bell ringing, indicating that it was time for dinner for the students in the dormitory. Kurohara blinked at hearing the sound and stood up from her bed, shoving the note in her pocket. She felt a little unsafe of leaving her room, as the person could just come in again using the method he had used before. So there, she thought of a way to let her know that someone had indeed, entered her room during her absence. Also a little something she got from a movie. She has no life you see.

The ravenette got some tape from her drawer and cut of a 5cm length of tape before taping it on the window right under the lock. She did the same with the other window and before she left her room, she did it with the door. If someone dared to enter her room, the tape would get loose and it'll tell her about an intruder in her 'territory'.

_Hope it works though…_

She mused and headed over to the cafeteria in a hurry before the other students get the good parts of the food served.

* * *

In a corner table, Akashi chewed on his tofu in a well-mannered fashion alone. He had changed his school uniform to a casual white T-Shirt with dark brown slacks when he returned to his dorm earlier on. His mind was filled with the school's seven mysteries— one of them, that is —and his appetite wasn't really there tonight. The thought of the _black pawns_ making their move wherever he lets his guard down— not that he always does —was enough to drive away the feeling to eat.

He took a sip of the miso soup prepared and placed the bowl down, wanting to continue on his tofu, when a person passed by him, a small piece of paper dropping from her pocket. Akashi who saw this couldn't just let the person be ignorant to the fact that she had dropped something, call it a student council president's pride if you'd like, so he called out to the person, bending over to pick up the paper.

"excuse me," he said, using a formal tone as he turned to face her direction. "you dropped something."

"eh?" The person turned around, careful to not drop the things on her tray. "ah, sorry—"

The person instantly ceased her words the moment her eyes set on Akashi, a rather annoyed expression forming quickly on her face and her shoulders were hunched to highlight how unpleased she was in seeing him.

"oh..It's you.." she heaved a sigh.

"is there a problem with it being me, Kurohara?" he questioned rather sarcastically.

"unfortunately there is." She huffed. "just give me the paper and—"

"now, don't say that." Akashi smiled rather mischievously, gesturing over to the seat in front of him. "I have a few things to ask from you so do sit down and have dinner with me"

"I refuse." An instant answer.

"you dare disobey me?"

The smile disappeared and a dangerous glint was in his mismatched eyes, sending a chill down her spine. Usually she wouldn't be affected even a bit to his intimidating aura but today, it did. Effectively. Even so, no way was she going to follow what he said like a loyal puppy.

"apparently, yes." She uttered, keeping a calm tone and fortunately, it wasn't hard. "now, just return what you have in your hand—"

"I have no obligation of doing so unless you take a seat."

Akashi coolly uttered, putting the paper in his pocket and returning his attention to his food. An irritated mumble was emitted from the girl before she reluctantly set her tray on the table and sat facing the redhead, a satisfied smirk gracing his features. Kurohara started on her food— a simple dish of grilled salmon with rice and miso —avoiding any eye contact with the boy in front of her.

The students who saw them all thought that they were a weird pair to be with each other and they could obviously sense the tense aura surrounding the two. It can't be helped considering how one felt about the other. As the two continued to eat in silence, Kurohara decided that at this pace, she won't be able to retrieve the note so she glared at Akashi and asked, eyes narrowed accompanied with a frown.

"so? What is it that you wanted to ask?"

Giving a short glance to her, he decided to comment, "you really don't smile, do you"

"just get on with what you wanted to know" she huffed, averting her eyes from him.

Taking his time, Akashi casually said, "tell me what happened during the art room incident"

"that?" she frowned more. "you know about the rumors, don't you? There's no need to ask."

"there might be a difference in your case."

Kurohara furrowed her eyebrows and tilted her head to the side, the frown still intact. "difference? Don't think there is..ah-"

She brought her hand to her chin and looked as if she just realized something important. Akashi glanced at her from his food, waiting for her next words. After a pause, she looked up a little towards the redhead and moved in slightly closer, not wanting others around them to hear.

"actually, at that time, a voice told me to get out of the place. A really deep and bone-chilling voice..."

She explained, a serious expression on her face. Akashi tilted his head lightly to the side, letting the information seep into his mind, already coming up with a conclusion to who the voice belonged to. He placed his chopsticks aside, already finished with his food, and arranged his plates on the tray, as common courtesy.

"that will be sufficient." He uttered, standing up, and tossed the note back to her. "you can have this back."

Kurohara caught it and clicked her tongue, the way he was acting irritating her a lot. Akashi, in response, just gave a faint smirk and walked off. The ravenette didn't even bother looking at him leaving the table and continued her meal feeling unnecessarily annoyed. She wondered, while chewing on her food, why did she even tell him? She could've just lied.

_Perhaps…The way he asked made her feel like she could depend on him about the incident._

"…nah.."

There's no way she could ever feel like that towards him.

…right?

* * *

Akashi shut the door to his room, locking it then laid down on his bed. He too didn't have a roommate so it was peace. He stared at the ceiling, the contents of the note he picked up was going through his mind. Unknown to the girl, Akashi had took a glance of the contents before he returned it to her. He had an inkling that it was related to the art room case.

The redhead closed his eyes, feeling tired from all the researching he had done. He was already close to the truth of the incident and he needed his rest. The enemy was making their move, he knew. All he had to do was prevent them from making checkmate, and he knew he could. As he is the one controlling the game after all.

* * *

Kurohara returned to her dorm after she was done with her meal, taking some time for a detour to let the food digest fully. The moment she reached her room, her eyes trailed to the tape that was supposed to be still intact on the door. Fortunately, it was. Thinking that no one had entered from the front, the ravenette let out a sigh and proceeded to unlock the door. Now all that's left is to check the windows.

Her fingers gripped the knob tightly before twisting it open and the moment the interior was seen, she had nearly lost her balance from shock, eyes widened to its maximum extent. The grip on the door knob got stronger and the shock from before instantly turning into fear.

The curtains, swaying from the slight breeze coming the open window, were ripped and the furniture was messed up. The bed sheets were also ripped horribly and her manga were all torn, the pages all over the place. On the wall, written with a red spray, was "_**YOU'VE SEEN IT. YOU WILL DIE.**_"

Kurohara dropped to her knees, widened and puzzled eyes still staring at the damage in her room. "why.."

_Is this really related to the art room rumors..? If so then I'll…_

A smirk took place on her features and her eyes formed an amused glint, replacing every sign of fear she had before.

"how interesting.."

* * *

_**Thanks for reading!**_

_**P.S: **____**It's currently the fasting month so my brain can't think much without its sugar so expect the updates to be rather late but I'll try to get them done as fast as possible, kay? ;; **_


	3. Assault

___**Disclaimer: everything belongs to their rightful owners.  
Note: after days of just staring at the screen trying to figure out what to type, I finally managed to finish this chapter- forgive the mistakes if there are any because it's like 2 in the morning aND WHY DO YOU COME AT THIS TIME MOTIVATION- siggghs-ヽ(；▽；)ノ anyway, sorry for the wait and enjoy~**_

* * *

_The white cat had always observed anything related to the black cat. From that, the white cat knew that another cat, a grey one from the wonderland, was targeting to attack the black cat. It didn't want a lowly cat take away its source of interest. So, the white cat thought, that it should protect what belongs to him. No matter what ways it would choose to use._

* * *

When she had reported the incident to the teachers the next day— purposely leaving out the detail of the red spray message, they started whispering worriedly to each other and rushed off somewhere, not before telling her to get new sheets and curtains from the storage room so that she could fix up the room on her own. They also were gracious enough to let her skip class for the day. From their actions, she figured that the teachers must've realized a certain point from what she said. Perhaps the reason they rushed off was to call the cops.

Though reluctant to do all the physical work by herself, Kurohara still dragged her feet to the storage room after picking up the keys from the staff room. In order to let some light in the dark room, she left the door wide open as the lights in the room, according to one of the teachers, were not working and are due to be replaced soon. The storage room was in a rather secluded area in the school so light couldn't really enter the place.

Depending on the slight source of light from the outside, she scanned the labels on the boxes lined up neatly on the racks and took down a box with the label 'sheets' and another with the label 'curtains'. She took out new sheets and curtains from them and placed them aside on a small rack before returning the boxes to their original place. Thankfully the racks weren't that tall so it made her job easier. A light sigh was let out the moment the boxes were in place and she went to pick up the sheets when the red stained wall in her room was remembered.

She heaved a sigh and placed the sheets aside before pulling up the over sized sleeves* of her sweater and searched for a pail and a sponge. The pail was easy to find as it was just at the corner of the room but the sponge was a different story. None of the boxes were labeled with 'sponge' so Kurohara had to dig through every single box available and there were a hell lot. One by one the boxes were brought down and were searched through. It was a tedious job but it was for the restoration of her room so it can't be helped.

As she searched through the probably eighth box, she heard the sound of something 'clicking' and at the same time the room turned dark. By impulse, she instantly turned around, realizing that the door was closed. She clicked her tongue and tried to maneuver through the darkness. Unfortunately for her, the storage room didn't have any windows so it was pitch black, except for the faint line of light coming from the spaces of the door.

By a shadow that passed by, she assumed that it was an animal of some sort or a someone who didn't realize she was in there and closed the door. Using her arms, she moved forward to the direction the door was slowly, careful not to knock into anything. But of course, in a pitch black space like this, it is highly impossible to make it out without hitting something so that's what happened.

"shit-"

A rare curse was given from her when her hip hit the corner of a desk that is no longer being used. Grumbling about why the desk was placed in the middle of nowhere under her breath and ignoring the throbbing pain, she proceeded forward towards the door and gave a light smirk of satisfaction once she got hold of the door's handle.

She slid the door open and suddenly it had pulled back by itself like a strong force was applied then, out of nowhere, a vase came crashing down, landing just a few inches away from her. Kurohara's eyes widened and she moved a step back by reflex, staring at the floor where the vase had crashed. The water inside the vase formed a puddle when it had broken into millions of pieces. Floating in the small puddle was a long fishing line with a tiny hook at its end.

A bored look replaced the shock and she went a few steps out the storage room then inspected around the door. Sure enough, she found what she was looking for. A nail on the wall area above the door and another on the wall area beside the end of it. She huffed, not wanting to even compliment the person who set up the trap as it was something elementary and not even worth a compliment.

All they had to do was loosely attach the hook with the fishing line at the space between the door and wall near the handle area when they first close the door. Then they pass the fishing line through a nail— they have probably prepared beforehand to work in a shorter time —that is on the wall at the end of the door and bring it up to another nail that has been prepared beforehand above the door. The fishing line is then tied to the vase and the water filled vase is left to dangle from there.

Once someone opens the door, the hook looses its grip which causes the fishing line to loosen as well and results in the vase crashing down. The fishing line would either fall on the floor or it would be dangling from the nail above, depending on the set up, that is. It was a trick used at times in mysteries and since she was rather the fan of such genres, Kurohara had an inkling that that trick was used. The person who set this up must've been the one who wandered in front of the room when the door was closed.

The vase was set to crash onto her the moment she exited the storage room. If she had been a little faster in her step, she might've been severely injured by now. A fact was decided by her that moment, and it was that someone wanted her dead. The threats, the incidents, it all made sense. The problem was, why? If it had something to do with what happened in the art room, then could it have been the white powder she saw? Students have died from witnessing that powder substance after all.

_That would mean that powder is…but, to think that our school has people doing that in the shadows, it's rather unlikely…_

No. At this point, anything unlikely had to be taken into consideration. That was the only way to reach the truth after all.

"Kurohara"

A voice cut the ravenette from her train of thoughts and she turned to face Akashi who approached her, a questioning look on his face. Unlike usual, Kurohara didn't give a frown but merely an emotionless expression at his presence. Somehow, she felt that she didn't have any energy to even give a frown.

"what are you doing here, skipping class?"

"the teachers let me. Personal reasons."

His eyes trailed over to the watery mess on the floor and he gave a rather suspicious look at both the mess and the girl.

"what happened here?" he asked, voice indicating that he wasn't going to take any bullshit as an answer.

Now, Kurohara was a stubborn person. When it comes to the person she hates, she makes it a point to tell him absolutely nothing, even if it's a general situation. She treats it like a indirect torture to the person. It may seem as an act with no manners but she wasn't going to care. She hates the person, that person isn't going to get any information from her.

"who knows. Figure it out yourself."

The irritation coming from the male in response to the answer was obvious and suddenly she felt a sense of accomplishment at that. Accomplishment of letting the person she despised get pissed. She held back a smirk in order to not expose how she was feeling. She felt like it would cause a disadvantage as she was dealing with Akashi after all.

"Kurohara—"

"I gotta go so if you'll excuse me"

It was a risk she took, cutting off the redhead mid-sentence like that and attempting to walk off. The male hated being treated so and if someone dared to, they would always end up with regretting their actions. It was a sign of disobeying him and another sign of disrespect to him. As a person who claims he is absolute, it would definitely hit a nerve.

With a hint of pride, she picked up the stuff she came to get and walked past the redhead, an intimidating glare felt against her back as she continued her way. Honestly, that guy is really something... Trying all she could to ignore the glare, she returned to her dorm room and started on her chore.

* * *

Akashi was both annoyed and amused by the fact someone dared to go against him that for a split second, his main concern was almost forgotten. He returned his gaze back to the broken pieces of vase in the puddle of water and a light frown formed on his face.

_They have made their move…_

The enemy was absolutely serious in their attack and he could tell that they had every intent to finish of their target but the trap set with the vase wasn't done with the objective to kill. That, he could confirm. According to the files he found in the student council room, the killing has a certain pattern which is to first break down the victim before ending him and there were no exceptions.

The reason for this pattern was probably because it could give a feeling of thrill when torturing the victim before his life ends. Like pulling off the wings of a butterfly which you have caught in your net. It gives a feeling of power. Of course, all of this were just Akashi's assumptions. But, if it turned out true— which is highly possible considering it is him —then they are dealing with a psychopath-like person in this school.

_To think that such a person would exist in this school—_

His thoughts were cut off and his eyes instantly darted towards a dark corner in the hallway, giving the area a hard stare before he decided to leave for his class, the broken pieces of vase abandoned just like that on the floor. A person would have called him an irresponsible person for not cleaning up the pieces before leaving but Akashi had his reasons.

A culprit will always return to the scene. That's what they say. Akashi knew that the person who set the trap up would return to retrieve the fishing line because if it were to be found by the teachers, it would serve as a clue to who did it as around the dormitory, it is hard to get such an item. It wasn't allowed in the school— unless for art uses in the art room —due to the number of times it has wrapped itself around the neck of a person.

Though Rakuzan is known to be the best school in Kyoto, crimes such as murder have been occurring in the school area. Certain students who come from rich families sometimes think that they could get away with anything because of their status so they commit the crime without second thought, knowing that their parents would do anything to cover the truth up. No one, except those in the school and police know about it. It is all to protect the school's reputation, of course.

Akashi didn't want the culprit to know that he was aware of his plans. It would only make the culprit extra careful when planning his attacks. Make him lower his guard, then, capture him in the act. Let him think that he is the one controlling the game. Don't let him be aware of the fine threads that are already circling his limbs. Don't let him be aware of the emperor that is manipulating the game in the shadows.

_The game…has only just begun_

* * *

Kurohara heaved a sigh as she threw herself on her bed, the sheets already changed into new ones as well as the curtains. The red stained wall were partially cleaned up after several hours of nonstop scrubbing. She was exhausted. Even so, there were a little more cleaning she had to do before she could actually take a long rest.

The girl turned to her side— feeling like a floppy piece of konyaku the moment she did —and stared at the wall, thinking through the vase trick again. Since the fishing line could only be found in the art room— and _only_ in the art room —there's a possibility of the culprit being a member of the art club since only a small fraction of the students in the school are told and all are members of the club. It also becomes more possible that it is one of the members since the 'crime scene' is the art room.

_Well, if it's that easy of a thing the police would've solved it years ago…_

Then again, the family status of most of the students in the school could be a factor it hasn't been solved. Bribery, fear of power. Their families could use any way to cover up for the crime. But of course, it couldn't proven. Unless someone somehow somewhat magically has the proof in his hands which is highly impossible since the families would have taken precaution to destroy any evidence left.

"..how troublesome.."

Kurohara sat up and glanced over to the clock on her desk which showed it was almost 11am then decided to resume her cleaning work. Thinking over things that were hard for her to understand would only waste her time. Now, she needed to concentrate on the mess in her room. At the moment, it is the main problem. The identity of the culprit of the incidents could wait for later.

The detective role for this incident wasn't her and she wasn't planning on playing that role. She was just the victim. There was no need for her to think about the truth behind the incident. If it is left alone, the truth will come to light on its own someday. But, would she really be content with this? Honesty, who likes an unsolved mystery. Especially if you are involved.

_Once you have started the game, you have to see through the end of it._

_The pieces of the chess board were steadily moving on the black and white tiles and to be the only piece immobile, that wouldn't be fun at all._

_The pawns are ready to put the king into check._

_If the king doesn't make a move, it will soon become checkmate._

"the role of the defeated king.." the cunningness in her smile was apparent as looked at her reflection in the mirror visible from her position on the bed. "I wonder who will earn it?"

* * *

Class for the time period was over and since it was break, Akashi wasted no time to head over to the student council to see what else he could get regarding the art room incident. As he walked down the hallway, a senior bumped into him, causing each other to stumble slightly back. Akashi raised his head to apologize to the tall senior, though he wasn't at fault, but held back the thought the moment he saw his face.

"ah sorry, junior. Didn't watch where I was going"

Saying that, the senior walked off, whistling a tune that could send a chill down someone's spine. The redhead's eyes followed the senior, observing his every movement. The moment he saw the older male fiddle with something in his pocket, a smirk formed on his face and his eyes had an mischievous glint in them.

"it seems that things would end faster than I thought…"

* * *

"finally done…"

Kurohara groaned as she leaned back on the edge of her bed of the floor, her room already returned to its original state. The furniture were placed back to where it should be and the wall was surprisingly spotless. Courtesy of the amount effort she put in trying to clean it until the evening and even taking the self-torture of skipping lunch. Honestly she was thankful she could bare with not eating for half a day or so.

The girl picked up the pail and chucked the sponge in it before exiting her room— making sure she locked the window and door so that she wouldn't have to go through hours of cleaning again —and headed over to the storage room to return the two items, as well as the torn curtains and sheets she chucked in the pail too, a little lazy to find a plastic or such to put them in.

The absence of the broken pieces of the vase was first noticed when she arrived at her destination and she simply assumed that someone had cleaned it up, if not Akashi. Leaving the door wide open once again, she entered the room and made sure she placed a rather heavy box to prevent the door from closing before placing the items in her hand back to their place.

While she folded the torn sheets to be put in a box, she failed to notice a shadow silently creeping up behind her, an item with a dangerous glint in his hand. The item was raised high and swung down, aimed at the back of the the girl, a malicious grin spread across his face, his eyes widened psychotically.

_Goodbye..girl.._

* * *

**_*Kurohara likes having over sized sleeves _****_for any of her sweaters- _**like how Yuki from Horimiya wears hers (www)

**_thanks for reading!_**


	4. Gratitude

___**Disclaimer: everything belongs to their rightful owners.  
Note: /sobs this is kinda late I'm sorry this week was just so hectic that I didn't have much time to write and whenever I did, I'd end up staring at the screen with no idea what to type- and I'm not very satisfied with this chapter...though, I'll let you guys be the judge **____**ヽ(；▽；)ノ please forgive any mistakes if there are any and enjoy~**_

* * *

_The grey cat had made its move, attempting to sink its teeth into the flesh of the unsuspecting black cat. The white cat would not tolerate anyone laying a paw on its possession. The white cat could see how surprised the black cat was at its help but it chose to say nothing about it. The black cat then, just a little, started to have its opinion on the white cat change._

* * *

The bell signaling break time chimed and the students either went out to buy their food in the cafeteria or stayed in class to eat the bento they brought from home. Mizutani Haruka was one of those who brought their own bento. She went over to Kurohara's class with a skip in her step, bringing her food, and approached the ravenette who seemed like she was spacing out, or rather staring at a certain someone who was talking with some seniors in front of the class's entrance.

After a few times of calling her name, Mizutani decided that Kurohara was definitely not aware of her presence so she gave a light shake to her friend's shoulder in attempt to snap her out from her spacing out. Indeed, it was the right action. Kurohara blinked in realization, in reaction to the shakes, and turned to face the brunette who was pouting from being ignored, hands on her hips as the ravenette stared blankly at her.

"geez..I've been calling out to you the whole time"

"ah..sorry.."

"so," Mizutani wrapped an arm around her neck and brought her face close to Kurohara's, her other hand casually placing her bento on her desk. "what's with you and Akashi-kun?"

Receiving a puzzled look, the brunette decided to elaborate. "you were staring at him, Icchan. The whole time since I entered."

Kurohara's eyes widened for a split second before she turned her face away from Mizutani, "I wasn't staring. At all."

"oh c'mon…you totally were"

"I wasn't."

Mizutani just shrugged, knowing that this was all just a denial from the stubborn girl. But, it still got her curious. This was the first time her friend had kept her gaze on the male for more than 1 second. She used to be too irritated by the redhead that she would _always_ keep her gaze away from him. She might just punch him if she looked too long, according to her. At this statement, Mizutani would always let out a sigh. It hasn't been even long since the two became friends during the time they met after the entrance ceremony so there were a lot of things they didn't know and couldn't understand about each other.

One of the things that Mizutani really couldn't get about her friend was why she would act so distant with others. Eating lunch on her own. Not attempting to talk to others and make friends. Honestly, if Mizutani hadn't decided to call out to her, they wouldn't even be friends. Once she had asked Kurohara about it, a simple "that's something you don't have to know" was given as an answer.

Though they looked close in the eyes of others, there was still a wall between them. Not that Mizutani minded. She was content with them just being friends. But, if possible, she wanted to break down the wall between them. She wanted to get closer and share their feelings. She wanted Kurohara to open up to her.

"hey, Icchan…"

Mizutani said, sitting on the seat in front of Kurohara which was empty and turned the chair to face her, a rather worried expression on her face.

"is there something troubling you?"

"..nothing is."

"if there is," she offered a smile. "you can tell me about it, y'know?"

"like I said, nothing is, idiot.."

"geez.."

Mizutani pouted and laid her head on the desk, glancing up to Kurohara who returned her gaze back to the red haired male. Nothing was troubling her at all, she would say if anyone at all asked.

_But, if I had to say.._

She glanced over to the redhead who was still talking with his seniors, her eyes focused on the hand shoved in his pocket, a faint colour of white could be seen under the end of his long sleeves.

_It would be him…_

* * *

She had failed to notice a shadow silently creeping up behind her while she was focused on folding the sheets, an item with a dangerous glint in his hand. The item was raised high and swung down, aimed at the back of the the girl, a malicious grin spread across his face, his eyes widened psychotically.

_Goodbye..girl..!_

Before the knife even managed to graze her sweater, the girl, who had sensed someone standing behind her just at the last minute, turned around and barely managed to avoid the knife, landing on her bottom in the process. She blinked with her expression showing how hard she was trying to process why this guy— who was wearing the most psychotic expression she had ever seen in her whole entire life with his non-matching Rakuzan uniform and his darkened brown hair in a mess —was attacking her.

"tsk..you dodged it huh.."

A frown formed on his face as he brought the knife to his mouth, licking it like he was licking liquid off it. Her eyes slightly widened at his actions and her face scrunched up, feeling rather disgusted at his whole appearance, but her expression instantly returned to its emotionless façade, though some traces of fear could be seen. Seeing this like this in a horror or gore movie and actually experiencing it were two different things and honestly, she just wanted to stick to horror movies, thank you very much.

The male's face formed an amused grin as he twirled the knife in his hand for a short bit before grabbing the handle tightly once again, crouching towards the girl. It was a first for him to have a victim so desperate in looking unafraid. And it made him excited. Excited to see of what would happen when he starts on his '_work'_.

"why are you trying to look so brave, girl?" he questioned, tilting his head creepily to the side. "your face when you were in the art room was a lot more better~"

She narrowed her eyes slightly at him as he lightly brushed the sharp end of the knife on her cheek, causing a small cut on it, blood slightly flowing from it. It hurt, really, but she controlled her facial expression to not show any pain. If you show any emotion, you lose. That's what she thought. At this moment, staying calm is most essential. Even though she was hardly in the calm zone.

She could hear her own heart pounding fast inside her chest and she couldn't bring out her voice to even let out a scream. Her attention was more on the sharp knife at the corner of her eye rather than the person in front of her, who was wearing an expression similar to that of a predator. She had to find a way to escape. _But, how.. _

The male clicked his tongue at her act of masking the pain, feeling dissatisfied because his prey wouldn't show expressions he wanted to see. The reasons he even chose to take it slow was to see the fear reflected in the eyes of his victims but, this one hid her fear. If he wanted to see even just a little bit of the fear she had shown previously, the only way was to turn up the pace.

Roughly, he slammed her down on the floor, hand gripped tightly on her shoulder, the strength from the grip and the force used sending an extreme sensation of pain on her left shoulder, her face wincing at the pain. The grin of his returning to his face once he saw her expression and the knife he held swung down on the girl, whose eyes widened at the sight of the weapon aiming for her and without thinking twice, she threw her hands up and managed to grab the firm arm of the attacker, barely stopping the attack.

Though it took all her strength just to prevent the knife from reaching her throat, the brown haired male didn't treat it as a hindrance to his main objective and continued to use little effort to push the knife towards her. With the pain on her shoulder and the strength of the male, Kurohara found it harder and harder to keep the knife away. She thought of pushing the guy off but, no matter how much she used her legs to exert force to throw him off, he wouldn't budge.

_Ah..ah.. _She lamented, already feeling the strength in her grip weakening. _I'm a goner.._

The male instantly seized the chance to raise the knife up, out of her hold, and lowered the knife once again at full speed. At the thought that it would definitely plunge into her skin, the ravenette shut her eyes tight, not wanting to even catch a glimpse of the moment the knife would stab her. But, as if on cue, his wrist was grabbed from behind then twisted to the opposite direction of where it bends, resulting in the knife to fall off from his grip and him letting out a shrill scream of pain as his body bent backwards , a natural act with the position of his arm. In response to the sound of the knife hitting the ground and the scream, her eyes flew open and the first thing she saw was,

_Red_.

"honestly.." The cold and arrogant voice she was familiar with said. "I let you out of my sight and this happens.."

"Aka—"

"damn brat! Release me!"

The brown haired male howled, glaring at Akashi, who barely any expression on his face as he held onto the wrist of the other.

"unfortunately, senpai" he coolly said, putting on one of his menacing smiles. "I'm afraid I can't do that. You would kill your junior there if I did."

"basta—"

Before he managed to finish, Akashi had hit the back of the senior's neck with his hand, causing him to lose conscious and drop onto Kurohara the moment the redhead had released his wrist. A silent curse was muttered by the girl and she wriggled from under the the senior. She stood up, feeling light pain on her shoulder, and turned to Akashi, who was crouching down to pick up the knife that had dropped from the hold of the senior.

First thing she should do was, of course, thank him but, she found it hard to say those words. It was a person she never wanted to ever utter a word of gratitude after all. But, it would be bad manners wouldn't it? Swallowing her pride, Kurohara reluctantly called out his name.

"A-Akashi.."

Oh how it felt weird for her to say that name. The redhead responded by glancing up at her, pausing his action of retrieving the knife. The ravenette crossed one arm over her chest and the other hand was brought up to cover the bottom half of her face with the oversized sleeves of her sweater, eyes looking away from the male.

"well..y'see…"

"what?"

Acting hesitant wont help, she thought and decided to use her cold mask while thanking him. She lowered both her hands to her side and her eyes returned their gaze at him.

"actually— Akashi, watch out!"

By the shout, Akashi's eyes instinctively darted towards the supposedly unconscious senior of theirs, who already had the knife back in his possession and didn't waste any time to land an attack on the junior that had foiled his assault before.

Akashi winced as the knife sliced his lower right arm, blood flowing from the large cut it had created. He instantly held his arm as he backed up from the male, applying force on it as an attempt to lessen the bleeding. He had let his guard down. He knew he shouldn't have done so but he did. All because he was expecting. He was expecting to hear the two words from her who despises him. He wanted to see if she would actually utter those words to him.

_Well..I missed my chance.._

"damn brat!" their senior shrieked as he pointed the knife towards Akashi, his eyes filled with rage. "I'll kill you!"

"senpai," Akashi uttered with a bored expression, masking the pain he was feeling. "aren't you being a little too noisy?"

An obvious provocation. He knew that this senior of theirs was a hot headed person who was a little— very much —on the psychotic side. Provoking, was an easy matter. But a risk was also present. Might he take the bait and attack, would he escape unharmed? Even with his ability of reading movements, he cannot say for certain how someone like him would act. Though, he was willing to take the risk. Why he wanted to provoke him? It was to create an opening, for her.

"shut up!"

The male howled, just before he felt a hard blow on his head from behind and once again, he lost conscious and dropped on the floor. A loud clatter sounded as the blunt weapon— a baseball bat —was tossed aside by the girl who had used it, her cold, blue eyes looking at the fallen senior's body. She was thankful that the storage room kept old, unused bats in it for her to use. To confirm that the senior was truly out cold, she gave a light kick at his body. Receiving no response of a sort, she took some sheets and tied the senior with them, just incase he regains consciousness and chooses to attack again.

She then turned to check on Akashi when she discovered, he wasn't there anymore. Kurohara blinked in confusion and decided that he must've left while she was preoccupied with the senior. Though she was relieved that she wouldn't have to say anything to him, she felt a little guilty for not thanking him and she also felt a little worried about his wound. It was partly— no, perhaps 100% —her fault that he got hurt. She should at least, apologize…right?

* * *

_Well, it was then that the teachers came rushing in and started asking stuff about what happened so I didn't have the chance to do so…_

Kurohara sighed, prompting Mizutani to raise an eyebrow and feel curious of the sudden sigh. When her friend stood up all of a sudden, uttering a 'excuse me for a bit' as she did, and walked over to the redhead before telling him to follow her for a short bit as she had something to talk about, Mizutani could feel her expression change into that of an utterly shocked one because, _why in the world would Icchan want to talk to Akashi-kun!?_

The whole class, apparently, had the same thoughts. They stared at the pair, their eyes wide open, as they walked out and once they were out of sight, the whispering started. Mizutani, however, couldn't even move a muscle from the shock.

_w-what the heck is happening…_

* * *

In order to get some privacy, the two headed off to the rooftop, where the students hardly go to due to the strong winds that were surprisingly present during this time of the month. Like she mentioned before, mother nature isn't working right. Akashi and Kurohara both leaned on the railing surrounding the roof, she sitting down while he was standing up, and was surrounded by silence, minus the sounds of the wind blowing. It was when Akashi asked her objective on calling him here, that the silence was broken.

"..how's your arm doing?" she managed to start.

"It's fine. Though, I don't think that you brought me up here only to ask that."

Kurohara cursed his observant self. She brought her oversized sleeves up and hid the bottom half of her face with it, glancing away from him. Why was she regretting this now… She should just simply say her thanks, apologize and it will all be over. They can act like this never happened. Well, it might be hard but they could try really.

"I wanted to say.." a pause. "sorry for what happened to your arm and..thanks"

She managed to, somehow, calmly utter those words to him and a part of her guilt had gone. Though, it wouldn't all be gone unless he states that he forgives her. And she was hoping he would. The ravenette glanced over to him, only to see he was looking at her, his heterochromatic eyes having an amused glint in them.

"to think that I would be hearing those words from you" he smirked.

"I'm not _that _rude of a person to not thank someone who helped me." _Though I didn't do so when he first helped me during the art room incident…_

"well, I deserve more than a thanks, don't you think?"

She could sense the amusement in his tone of voice, prompting her to send a glare towards him.

"what?" she scowled. Being with him really gets on her nerves and she wondered why was she still on the roof with him.

Akashi casually placed himself beside her, not even bothering to reply to what she said. A strong gust of wind blew past them and he closed his eyes, a gentle expression forming on his face as he savoured the peacefulness of the moment. It has been a while since he had felt such tranquility ever since he had 'switched' with 'him' so he wanted to let the feeling seep deep into his mind. Kurohara raised an eyebrow as she looked at him, finding his peculiar actions a little intriguing. A faint smile graced the features of the redhead and he uttered in a soft voice, which was unusual for him.

"thank you"

Kurohara's eyes widened as she was taken aback by what he had just said. She had done nothing to even deserve those words and, Akashi Seijuro, thanking someone? This was really something new. Just before she managed to start questioning him, the bell signaling the end of break chimed. Akashi opened his eyes, a tad of annoyance at the bell ruining his moment of tranquil, and he stood up, heading for the rooftop's door.

The ravenette cursed the bell for ruining her only chance of asking Akashi about his words, since hell no was she going to ask him during class or any other time. It would make others, or him, think that she didn't mind him, which was absolutely wrong.

As she walked towards the door, the gentle expression he had produced few moments ago kept on replaying in her mind and for a split second, she thought that, maybe, he wasn't that bad of a person as she thought.

_But, that still wont change anything.._

A decision that had a small amount of doubt was made as the door was shut close, leaving the rooftop with only gusts of wind filling the silence.

* * *

**_thanks for reading!_**


	5. Acknowledgement

**_Disclaimer: everything belongs to their rightful owners._**

**_Note: yeaaaaaa i procastinated on this chapter coz, hari raya man xD I also kinda had a block all of a sudden...~_~ Sorry for the wait and hope you enjoy!_**

* * *

_The white cat and black cat resumed their life of ignoring each other. Though something had happened in the past, the black cat wasn't going to attempt any sort of contact with the white cat. It would stay away from the white cat as long as it lived. Or so it thought…_

* * *

It has already been about two weeks after the incident. The senior, who had attacked Kurohara, was found to have murdered the past victims as well and was sent to jail. He was also discovered to have been selling drugs to certain students, with the art room as his base. The white powder the students have claimed to see were the powdered type of drugs that the senior had carelessly left out in the open.

Of course, the school had kept it a secret from those who weren't involved and the police also said they would keep this a secret from the public, courtesy of the pressure the school gave them. As if nothing had happened, everything returned to normal, the incident never being brought up ever again. Even for the two teens that were the main protagonists of it, it was now just a memory kept away..

The classroom of 1-A was in perfect silence as their math teacher returned their results from the pop quiz she had given in class last week. Some of the students were absolutely confident in their ability of scoring high marks in the sudden quiz, while others didn't give a hoot about the subject. And then there is the other category of being confident in getting just enough average marks.

"Kurohara-san."

The teacher called out and the said student stood up from her seat, walking to the teacher to receive her marks. The teacher had a frown on her face so the ravenette was positive that her marks weren't quite good. But what she didn't expect was...

"29%! You failed!"

The teacher announced as she passed the paper over to Kurohara. She instantly froze when she saw the huge 29% on her paper written in bright red ink. Yes she wasn't that good in maths but for her to actually fail, this was a first. She could hear the sound of something crashing down in her head and she became speechless.

"honestly, Kurohara-san. I didn't expect for you to receive such marks." the teacher shook her head in disappointment. "You will have to buck up if you are to continue schooling in Rakuzan."

Of course, as a boarding school, Rakuzan demands excellent marks from its students. If they were to get unsatisfactory marks, it will tarnish the great reputation of the school. Reputation was everything here after all. Kurohara had managed to get those kind of excellent marks for the entrance exam so suddenly failing a pop quiz was very unexpected. Though, the ravenette would argue that she couldn't concentrate on studying due to a series of questioning by the police and teachers. Not that she would actually say it here.

"I will have to get someone to tutor you for the exams. It is unacceptable if you fail that too..."

The teacher simply uttered as she scanned through her students that were sitting obediently at their seats. Her eyes were then fixed on a certain redhead, who was glancing out the window with a bored look on his face. The teacher then smiled before calling out to him.

"Akashi-kun. Would you mind tutoring her?"

It took a second for the information to be processed by her mind, which was busy trying to figure out how she ended up failing this bad, and she shot an utterly surprised look at the teacher, eyes giving a silent plea to take back the request. Akashi shifted his gaze to the teacher before, accompanied with a smile, answering.

"I don't mind."

The ravenette shot a glare at him, obviously unsatisfied by the fact he just agreed, which he just responded with a smirk. The menacing aura now surrounding the two was absolutely unnoticed by the teacher as her smile widened and her hand was then placed on the girl's shoulder, a silent threat being passed on by that simple, supposedly harmless hold.

"so he says, Kurohara-san. Please do get higher marks during the exams, understood?"

Kurohara had to hold back a groan and she let out a small sigh of defeat instead, knowing that whatever she does, she cant change the mind of the teacher in front of her, and she doubts the seemingly amused red haired male would take back his agreement in performing the request. She muttered a low yes and the teacher allowed her to return to her seat.

_This is only until the exams are over...you can live through it, Itsuki.._

_...perhaps_

* * *

The bell chimed and all students left their classes to attend to their club activities, though some chose to skip. As for Akashi and Kurohara, they stayed back in class to start on their little tutoring session. Actually, just before they started, Kurohara tried to escape but was unfortunately caught by the red oni seated behind her when she hadn't gotten even two steps away. Oh how she cursed him for that.

"you could've just refused."

She said, frowning, as he started to explain equations that were very confusing for her. Akashi lifted his gaze from the notebook they were working on for a short moment before returning his gaze on it, taking his time to reply to a statement he didn't really want to bother answering.

"sensei requested me to do so. How could I decline"

A reply in a perfectly cool tone, which indefinitely ticked off the girl. But, instead of her usual comeback accompanied with a frown, she just let out a sigh and rested her head between her arms on the desk, a little too tired to do anything bout him. Recently, she has found the presence of the male less irritating. This feeling had started right after she had uttered her thanks on the rooftop to him. She had no idea why this had suddenly happened but one thing's certain, though she still finds him annoying in a way or two, she didn't mind that much being with him now.

"Kurohara. Focus."

Akashi used the pen he was holding to gently poke her forehead in order to make her return her attention towards the notebook. Kurohara gave a light frown before raising her head and resumed listening to Akashi's explanation on how to solve the problem they were working on.

She had to admit, he had a way with teaching. The way he explained the solution was somehow easy to understand despite how complexed it was. And for someone bad in maths like her, it was something to her convenience. If compared to when learning the same topic in class, she would say Akashi's teachings were easier to get an understanding of. No wonder he's the top student of the whole school.

The surrounding became silent, minus the faint shouts of the students outside and the voice of the redhead. The only times the silence was broken was whenever the ravenette would get a mistake in doing the solution or when they start on a different sub-topic where the redhead has to teach. The comfortable silence that the pair didn't mind having continued as time passed.

* * *

Akashi heaved a sigh as Kurohara had failed to answer a certain question for the nth time. They've been at it for minutes and it still remained unsolved. This made Akashi wonder how in the world she even passed the entrance exam and got admitted in the same class as him, which is one of the top classes.

"you have been making the same mistake here over and over again. I told you, ³√x ≠ 4."

Kurohara knitted her brows and frowned, "then, ³√x = ?"

"you have to figure that out yourself."

"tsk"

Akashi sighed again, though this time a little lighter, before he started to guide her through the question. Honestly, he had to compliment his own patience during this whole thing. He reckoned that if it was a certain green haired male he knew, he would have already snapped. He explained once again and as if she had gotten a sudden realization, a small 'ah' was emitted and she started to write the solution once again, the result showed to him.

"correct." he responded with a nod. "if you keep this up, you will at least get passing marks for the upcoming exams."

Kurohara replied with a hum and looked at the question once more with a bored expression. The ravenette then noticed that Akashi was staring at her, his eyes with the slightest bit of curiousity, and raised an eyebrow.

"what?"

"you really don't show much emotion do you"

"hah?"

Akashi placed his elbow on the desk and rested his chin on his palm, head slightly tilted to the side.

"after successfully solving a complex problem, normally someone would feel accomplished with himself and show joy for that." He stated. "But you aren't showing a shred of that expression."

"hmph. You're the one to talk." She scoffed. "you hardly show emotion yourself"

"I show emotion when necessary."

"when necessary, huh..."

Akashi straightened up his posture and gestured for Kurohara to continue on the next question, not forgetting to add that he needed to head over to the gym to check on the basketball club members so she shouldn't waste anymore time. At this, Kurohara mumbled a 'you could've just refused' before doing as told. Cooperating was actually the last thing on her list but acting like a spoiled brat and acting based on her feelings when this person willingly used a portion of his time to teach her was also the last thing on her list.

A few minutes passed, and Akashi decided that it was already enough for today, though she still needed to study more before being able to produce marks as excellent as how the teacher wanted. He glanced at his watch before grabbing his bag and standing up to head over to the gym. Kurohara also got up from her seat, wanting to return to the comfort of her dorm room when—

"would you like to come along?"

She stared at the male who was standing by the classroom entrance with a hand in his pocket, body rotated slightly to her direction. She could not comprehend. Why would he even offer for her to tag along? Honestly, why? But, she had to admit that she was rather interested in the school's Emperor of Creation— or so they called the team —though normally she wouldn't give a hoot about sports related things, so she gave a nod as she grabbed her bag and walked over to him.

"sure"

The pair walked down the hallway, both keeping their distance from each other, in complete silence. They have never been in a situation like this together so obviously, it felt awkward. At least for Kurohara. She was with him, the person she hated after all. Though, the feeling had lessen by a tiny bit.

Previously if she were to describe how she felt about Akashi, she would say it was like how you would feel about something you hated from the bottom of your heart. Disgusted. But if she were to describe how she feels about him now, she would say it's like eating dark chocolate. Bitter, but she doesn't mind. The reason was something that could be thought through but in the end, she wasn't good at complexed thinking. She also didn't want to live with the fact that she was starting to feel comfortable around him, honestly.

It wasn't long till the two reached the gym, greeted by the sounds of shoes squeaking and the loud sound from the ball being dribbled. The shouts from the members also filled the gym. The ravenette observed with curiousity, as the gym became quiet and the members paused their training the moment they entered. It was a sign of respect to their captain, she assumed.

Akashi looked at her from the corner of his eye before ordering the members to resume their practice, which they obeyed. He then turned to face a tall raven haired male who approached them, a gentle smile perfectly set on his features.

"Sei-chan" he greeted, the nickname striking curiousity in the girl who was beside the redhead. "you're rather late today. Did something happen?"

"Reo" he returned the favour, a nod to acknowledge the taller male. "I had to take care of a request from a teacher. Though, informing you had completely slipped my mind."

"is that so.."

'Reo' hummed as a response and his eyes caught sight of the female, who was unconsciously staring at him. He raised an eyebrow and tilted his head slightly to the side before asking,

"who might this be, Sei-chan?"

Akashi glanced at her for a split second before answering, "_she's_ the request."

"oh?"

A glint of curiosity appeared in the male's violet eyes* and he leaned forward towards her, a rather suspicious smile carved on his face as he seemed to 'scan' her from head to toe. He was curious in the person who his Sei-chan had brought along, as he _never_ comes to practice with a person, let alone a female, with him. He says they would get in the way, especially the fangirls.

Well, Akashi was originally distant from those other than his teammates, though he was also rather distant with them, so he wouldn't bring anyone to practice with him anyway. Usually. But this time, he brought someone with him. A female at that. One can't help getting curious, right?

Feeling a little uncomfortable, Kurohara backed up slightly as she stared at him. _What's the deal with this guy?_

The male straightened up his posture and chuckled, noticing the confused expression mixed with discomfort on her face. He held out a hand towards her for a hand shake.

"I'm Mibuchi Reo. A second year. Nice to meet you"

"Kurohara Itsuki..." she uttered rather quietly, taking his hand. "likewise"

Akashi raised an eyebrow at her rather timid act, as it was a first for him to see the girl that usually had a permanent frown on her face and was as blunt as a certain bluenette act like that. Even during the time she apologized to him, there was still a shred of her usual self. But now, none. Mibuchi released her hand and placed his hands behind his back, a wide smile on his face as he started,

"y'know...Sei-chan usually doesn't bring any 'guests' over to the gym to watch practice. What's your relationship with Sei-chan?~"

"pardon?" Kurohara blinked. It caught her off guard that he would ask her that question. With the utmost curiosity at that. She paused just a moment before saying out her reply, "of course—"

"Reo. Return to practice now."

"ah, understood. Well, see you next time, Kuro-chan~"

"Kuro-cha—?"

She didn't get to finish her words as the raven haired male rushed off to resume his practice. Just as a sigh left her lips, Akashi turned to face her and asked with a tilt of his head,

"well? What were you going to say?"

A silence between the two was created as Kurohara stared at him with her eyes widened, obviously surprised with the sudden interest of the redhead. Her mind was trying to process why on earth he was interested—

wait. It's something about himself. It's normal to want to know...

"I was gonna say that we're just classmates, obviously."

"classmates...Of course."

"what? Were you expecting something else?"

"of course not"

A small smile formed on Akashi's face, though it left as fast as it came, and he turned his attention to the practicing members. Kurohara couldn't really pinpoint it but she could sense a longing emotion from his eyes the moment he looked at the members. Though she shrugged it of as her imagination.

"...weirdo"

* * *

Days continued as Akashi fulfilled his responsibility in tutoring Kurohara. She was pretty much done with the fact that she had to be with him after school hours but she couldn't do anything about it really. The teacher wasn't going to change her mind in any way and Akashi wasn't going to help her persuade her so her doom is pretty much sealed. But, this was a one day that God decided to cut her some slack.

"practice match?"

Kurohara read out loud from the mail she received from Akashi. In order to make the exchange of information regarding their after school activities easier, the redhead had proposed to exchange numbers, though it received a strong objection from the ravenette. But, she gave in in the end.

She read through the mail once again at her seat, wanting to confirm that she doesn't have to see the demon for hell tutoring today. _No wonder he left early..._ Though she honestly felt relieved that he was unavailable today, the p.s at the end of the mail still managed to bring a frown.

_p.s: learning time tomorrow is doubled._

_that bastard..._

She heaved a sigh before getting up and heading out the classroom, thinking of how to spend her currently free time. As she walked down to the girls' dorm, she saw a number of students rushing towards the gym excitingly. It must be the practice match, she mused. Kurohara stopped walking, to ponder for a moment, before she headed over to the gym herself. After seeing the team train the last time, a small feeling of interest got to her on how the match was going.

The gym was packed with students who came to watch and thanks to her height, Kurohara could barely see the court from where she was standing, even when she stood on her toes. Muttering a curse under her breath, she slipped through the crowd all the way to the front rather easily. If she wanted to be thankful for being short, it would be during these times. She squeezed through the spectators until she managed to find a place to see the court, and at that moment, a loud cheer was heard from the spectators. She looked up, just to see Mibuchi perform a stunning 3-pointer.

Her eyes widened by a fraction in awe as the ball slipped through the hoop flawlessly without even hitting the ring, earning Rakuzan points. Kurohara stared at the senior as he returned to his position on the court, amazed by the shoot. She had never seen such a magnificent 3-pointer her entire life. Heck, she never thought someone could perform such a shoot.

Snapping out of her moment of awe due to another loud cheer, she started to observe the game with full concentration, her eyes following the movement of each player that was in possession of the ball. The way they dribbled, the way they preformed a fake, the way they stole the ball from the opponent. She observed to everything. Especially the plays of Akashi Seijuro.

Though it was only knowledge gained from rumours heard around the school, she knew how an excellent player he was. She knew that he was the captain of the Generations of Miracles. Even if she didn't want to know, the people chattering around her made that impossible. The way they described him during play sounded exaggerated so she found it rather impossible to believe in any of it. _But now..._

The way he passed the ball to his teammates, the way he easily broke through the opponents defense, and the way he controlled the flow of the game with precision and ease. It was exactly like the rumours. The more the time passed as the match continued, the more Kurohara found herself thinking how impressive Akashi is. The plays he did, a normal player wouldn't be able to do so. _He is truly one of the miracles..._

From the court, Akashi caught sight of the female watching in the crowd. His eyes widened a slight bit with interest as he took note of the obvious look of amazement on her face in the split second he had before returning his attention to the opposing team. Her expression was that of a child, he mused. A light smirk made its way on his face and he made a shot a few seconds before the match was over, securing their victory.

_so she can produce that kind of expression huh..._

The members of Rakuzan on the court uttered a small 'good work' to each other before lining up to bow. As the teams headed off to the locker room to change, the audience slowly dispersed from the scene, all talking about how great the match was and of course, how great Akashi was.

Kurohara silently headed back to her dorm, mind replaying the match a number of times. Though previously a friend from childhood had showed her a few matches on television, it never had sparked anything in her compared to what it did to him. The sport called basketball never actually caught her interest, but after seeing the practice match, she had felt an unknown feeling of excitement. Something she hadn't felt in years of her dull life. _And it was because of him..._

"Akashi Seijuro..." she muttered, a very faint smile appearing on her features. "you're really something.."

Back in the locker room, the members had just finished changing and they were all headed back to their own dorms, except for Akashi, who needed to lock up the gym. It was his responsibility as the captain after all. After making sure that no one was left in the gym, he secured the doors one by one, the keys were then returned to the staff room. He walked down the hallway to return to his room when he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket.

A light frown formed on his face. Honestly, he hated mobile phones, since they disturb his privacy most of the time and he prefers to have a face to face conversation, but not having one with him would be an inconvenience so he had no choice. Though he chooses to keep it away from him almost all the time. He took out the grey coloured device from his pocket, ceasing his steps, and flipped it open, the screen displaying a notification for a new message. The redhead selected the notification to open it and raised an eyebrow in slight puzzlement at the name shown as the sender.

_From: Kurohara_

_Good work during the match. As expected from Akashi._

For her to send a text to him, it was absolutely unexpected, even for him. A smirk made its way on his feature as he looked out the window from the hallway.

"you never cease to amuse me, Kurohara.."

* * *

_***since idk what his eye colour is and most fanarts i see colour them violet, thought i'd just go with that c:**_

_**There's gonna be more interaction between the two in later chapters since Kuro still needs to warm up to Aka *sighs***_

_**Thanks for reading!**_


	6. Curiousity

**_Disclaimer: everything belongs to their rightful owners._**

**_Note: sorry for the late update but school has started and I haven't had much free time- ;; updates will continue be real slow unless I find time- "OTL Hope this chapter doesn't feel too rushed or boring or such- ;; Once again, sorry for the wait and hope you enjoy!_**

* * *

_The black cat started to think that it might be fine being aquaintances at most with the white cat. It is, after all, a respectable being, though it finds it hard to admit. But, when its friend from the neighbouring country in the wonderland sent a letter with a riddle filled content, the black cat found itself feeling suspicious of the white cat..._

* * *

Kurohara stared at her phone as she laid on her bed still with her school uniform, her usual frown on her face and her brows knitted together. There was a lot of things she found hard to understand but this was prabably the hardest to all of the things. Well, it only applies to her, perhaps.

_Why did I send that?_

Out of all of the stupid things she admits she had done, this was by far the most stupidest one. In her opinion, that is. Sending a text, a complimenting text in a way, to Akashi Seijuro was something Kurohara never thought of doing. But after seeing the match, her hand unconciously typed out the message and sent it to him. She regretted pressing the send button ever since, which was only a just few seconds ago.

Kurohara grabbed her phone, deciding to type out an excuse for the text, as she didnt want Akashi to think she was actually amazed by him in the match (though she actually was). Just as she was thinking of an excuse— which was between 'sorry. I sent it to the wrong person. It was for a friend with the same surname' and 'Haruka stole my phone and sent you that stupid text' —a reply message from him came. She sat up instantly and blinked for a few seconds in confusion before opening the text.

_From: Akashi_

_To receive such a text from you, perhaps the world coming to an end. Still, I thank you for those words._

The ravenette could feel her eye twitch as she read the reply that was sent. The sarcasm could be felt even from the other side of the screen. She lightly tossed her phone to the edge of her bed before laying down again, grumbling to herself. A wrong move. That's what the text is. An absolutely wrong move. It was like a sign that she wasn't hostile to the redhead anymore, which is definitely not true but also not that false. Though that part was a part that she really doesn't want to talk about.

Letting out a sigh, she decided that staying like this was pointless so she got up from her bed to change. Staying too long in her school uniform felt kinda stuffy while in the room. In a lazy fashion, she took of the slightly large sweater of her uniform— which she chooses to wear instead of the blazer —before continuing to her dark grey shirt. Just as she was about to put on a different shirt, her phone vibrated, notifying a text message has arrived. Raising an eyebrow, Kurohara wonder who it could be, as she didnt have anyone who would text her. Excluding Mizutani and Akashi, though rarely. The thought of the text coming from Akashi made her cringe but then she shook off the thought, as there was no way he would text her without any reason. Perhaps.

She slipped on her shirt and went over to pick up her phone at the edge of her bed, proceeding to check the notification she received. Her eyes widened when she saw the sender's name and she hurriedly opened the text, words typed with perfect formality, a feeling of nostalgic happiness creeping into her heart.

_From: Tetsu_

_Hello, Kuro-san. It has been a while. How is it going in Kyoto? In Tokyo, I'm doing just fine. I've enrolled into a school named Seirin and have entered the basketball club. Though it only consists of second years, the team is quite strong. I met someone named Kagami-kun and he's a really strong player. We promised we will be number one in Japan with senpai and the others. Making a promise like that...I feel really happy. What about Kuro-san? Has anything interesting happened?_

Kurohara closed her eyes and let a fond escape her lips as she sat down and leaned on the edge of her bed. It has been years since she and 'Tetsu' have had contact with each other and since someone adressed her by that old nickname. The two go way back, as they were childhood friends, along with another person. A lot has happened during the time since she moved out from Tokyo during 5th grade that she stopped taking contact with him. Though there was a time she had tried contacting him. On that day... The ravenette shook her head, blocking out the unpleasant memories coming back to her, and typed out a reply.

_To: Tetsu_

_Yes, it certainly has been a while. 6 years, is it? I'm sure you've grown a lot since the last time I've saw you. Or are you still the same kid who's shorter than me? It's just fine here in Kyoto. I've enrolled to this prestigious school called Rakuzan. Keeping up my grades are a pain.. There's this guy called Akashi over here and he's the captain of the Generation of Miracles. Tetsu likes basketball so I'm sure you know him, right? Both Seirin and that Kagami guy sounds interesting. Maybe I could go over to Tokyo for a visit during summer break. What do you say?_

She pressed the 'send' button and put her phone aside once it said that the text has been sent. She waited for the reply to come, which as expected, came rather fast.

_From: Tetsu_

_I have definitely grown a lot compared to before, Kuro-san. (she could imagine his pouting face as typed that out) It would be pleasant if you could come visit. Oh, so you've met Akashi-kun. Yes, I know him. We were friends during middle school after all. I have to return to practice so I will perhaps talk to you on a later date. Oh and just as a word of precaution, it's best if you don't get too involved with the current Akashi-kun._

Kurohara looked at the final words of the text in puzzlement. Though the part where 'Tetsu' and Akashi were actually friends in middle school was an interesting point, she was more interested in the last sentence of the text. What did he mean by the current Akashi-kun? Did he mean that this Akashi wasn't the same Akashi he knew in terms of personality? It was just like him to talk in riddles— something she found to be really similar to a certain redhead —and unfortunately Kurohara wasn't much of a riddle solver, though mysteries are a preferred genre. She would've asked him about it but she wouldn't want to bother him during practice.

"I'll ask him during another time then..."

_or perhaps I could..._

* * *

The next morning came after the practice match and the students of Rakuzan High were trying their best to avoid a certain redhead as he sat on his seat in class, arms crossed and his intimidating aura feeling more intimidating then usual. Akashi wasn't pleased. Not at all. Though his calm facial expression didnt project that. Not only because a stray dog— from who knows where and who knows how it got in the boys' dorm area —decided to poop right in front of his door causing to stain his shoes but also because of a certain call he got from a certain teammate of his not-so-guiltily apologizing about how he lost some papers containing important info about an opponent they would be facing in yet another practice match.

And as if to add up his displeasure, the vice-president of the student council conviniently lost an important document which the principal had asked him to bring to him after school. The vice-president was in tears, almost, when he apologized to the already-in-a-foul-mood redhead and begged him to help find the document. Of course, as the 'kind' president of the student council, he complied. The kid's begging was getting to his nerves anyway. And to think this all happened in exactly one hour since school started, Akashi found it ironic.

The redhead let out a sigh as he decided to use break time to start his search. The time period for break would perhaps be just enough to look for the document but as for the info on their next opponent, that will be an absolute pain to get once again. Even for him. Unless, of course, he could find a person to gather the information before the match tomorrow. He could do it himself but the document that were lost have to be passed over to the principal once found and as the person who will find it, he will have no time to gather information after handing it over.

"this is really problematic.."

_ah well..we will win the practice match even without the information on the team. The main task is to retrieve the lost document.._

* * *

Break time came and the students went off to have their food. Akashi, on the other hand, headed off to the student council. The first place— and probably the only place —to search was there, according to the vice-president's story of "it was with me the whole time! But after I finished organizing some files, it was gone". How on earth did that even happen? That, he doesn't even want to bother thinking right now.

After unlocking the door, he went in and took out the boxes which have been organized by the vice-president, five in total, then started to search them throughly after placing them on the large table used for dicussions in the room. It was really a tedious task due to the amount of files in just one box but it was something he was asked (begged) to do. He had to take it seriously. Not that he never took anything seriously. Besides, it would merit himself as well.

His observant eyes scanned through every file in the first box, making sure that he did it fast as he knew that he had about 30 minutes to find the document before the bell rings. Just as he was about to move on to the second box, a knock was heard on the door and it was opened when Akashi gave the person permission to. He raised an eyebrow when he saw the person that entered was Kurohara, her hands holding a folder.

"I heard you were here so I came but...what are you doing?"

The oddly calm tone, unlike the usual tone of voice filled with hostility, she used whenever talking to him raised curiosity in the boy but he knew he had no time to actually inquire— or tease her —about it so he returned his attention to the pile of files.

"it is nothing that you have to know."

Kurohara clicked her tongue at the answer and Akashi heard the sound of the chair opposite of him being pulled and a quarter of the files he hasn't searched yet was pulled by the girl— who had comfortably placed herself on the chair —towards herself and she started looking through a file, the folder she was holding placed on the table beside the pile.

"you're looking for a file or something like that, right? I'll help." She casually stated, not even bothering to make eye contact with him.

The redhead glanced over to her and raised an eyebrow, a faint smirk forming on his face. "oh? And here I thought you didn't like me."

"shut up" she hissed, looking up to glare at him. "just tell me what you're looking for looks like so that I can help"

He let out a chuckle before briefly describing how the document looked like and continuing on his part of the search. A comfortable silence surrounded the two as they inspected each and every file, the document in question still not found though there was only 10 minutes left before the bell rings. Akashi, who didn't expect it would take this much time to look for one miserable document, let out a sigh and placed the file he had just finished scanning aside on the table and stood up.

"class will be starting. We will end this search here."

The ravenette raised her head and looked at him with a puzzled expression, "but we still have some files left—"

"I will resume looking for the document during lunch myself. You don't have to help anymore."

"whatever you say.."

Kurohara leaned back on her chair and huffed, before letting out an 'ah' as a sudden realization came to her. She picked up the folder she had brought with her when she came to the student council room and handed it over to the redhead across the table. Akashi looked at the seemingly familiar folder before shifting his gaze to the female, questioning her actions.

"this. It belongs to you, am I right?"

He looked at the folder in silence for a short moment before taking it from her hands, the item checked once he did. The words [Sakuragi High] written in bright red on the cover were immediately recognized by the redhead and he raised his head from the folder.

"where did you find this?"

With arms crossed over her developed chest, she answered in nonchalance. "it was lying around in the hallway headed for the gym. Since it does say it's the basketball club's, I thought of returning it to you. I planned on giving it to you during class but I forgot."

"is that so.."

She didn't expect him to thank her at all for it and she mentally gave herself a congratulatary pat on the back for guessing correctly. The chair let out a clatter when Kurohara stood up to return to class. Just as her partially covered hand reached out for the door knob, she ceased her actions and turned to face Akashi who was still on his seat, an innocent expression on her face.

"by the way...is the name _Kuroko Tetsuya_ familiar to you?"

The way a faint emotion which seemed like sadness mixed with regret flickered in his eyes didn't go unnoticed by the ravenette. Her eyes slightly widened at seeing the usually expresionless Akashi show such emotion, even just for a short moment. A small smile made its way on the features of the redhead and he closed his eyes, before uttering in a soft voice,

"Tetsuya, huh..." He opened his eyes and set his gaze on the girl. "what about him?"

The fact that he called him by his first name struck a point in her curiousity nerve but she had to put that aside first and move on to the question that she really wanted to ask.

"_don't get too involved with the current Akashi-kun_. That's what he told me." she narrowed her eyes at him. "mind telling me what he meant by the _current_ you?"

"rather than that, what is your relationship with Tetsuya?" Akashi answered her question with another question, slightly ticking her off.

"that doesn't matter. Don't answer a question with a question and tell—"

"if that doesn't matter, then the reason Tetsuya said those words also don't matter. Don't you agree?"

_Riiiiiiiiing!_

Just as she was about to open her mouth to talk back to him, the shrill sound of the bell prevented her from doing so. Kurohara glared at the ceiling, cursing the bad timing of the bell. She shot her eyes back to Akashi who had already gotten up from his seat to return to class. Kurohara wasn't going to let him go without answering her question since asking in class where there would be witnesses was a definite no. She hastily grabbed the sleeve of his blazer, stopping him in his tracks, and he looked at her with his usual cold eyes.

"Class is starting." he stated. "let go."

"no." she said, holding her ground. "not untill you answer me."

He glared at her, obviously not liking the fact she didn't listen to his order. If this was a male, he wouldn't hesitate to resort to.._necessary_ means but since this was a female, he had to hold himself back, which wasn't hard. Compare to men, women are fragile after all. If he would do what was necessary to _her_, the rumours that would spread wouldn't be pretty.

"we'll both be late for class. Let go." a short pause and he continued. "I will answer to your question after class."

The choice was given a thought and she clicked her tongue before letting go. Now that he could go, Akashi walked off to class, the girl following a few steps behind him, keeping a suspicious gaze on him. She wanted to know. What did Kuroko mean? Was he implying that the Akashi then was diferent then the Akashi now? But still...there was no need for him to place the word 'current' just to say that. And the way he worded it, as if implying that there would be another— perhaps —change in the boy named Akashi. But, what kind of change...

_..This will be a pain to find out.._

* * *

**_Thanks for reading!_**


	7. Emotions

_**Disclaimer: everything belongs to their rightful owners.**_  
_**Note: *dogeza* sorry for the late update but school has been taking most of my time- OTL really, who's the idiot who said all assignments should be submitted on the same date and the teachers can give piles of hwk as an addition =~= anyways, sorry for the wait and hope you enjoy!**_

* * *

_An unexpected emotion was born. The white cat hid it, the black cat wouldn't admit. Both unsure of what it was. "even if I consult someone, it's futile."_

* * *

In the end, Akashi never told her anything about what she asked. And she wasn't going to pester him for telling. Sure she wanted to know what Kuroko meant but pestering the redhead would get her nowhere. Trying to figure out everything herself would be hard (and a pain) since she's rather bad at such things. Kurohara decided that would have to wait until Kuroko finds some free time to text her so that she could ask what he meant since Akashi wasn't planning on doing so, though it may seem like some stupid excuse to procastinate. But for now..

"wrong again."

Kurohara nearly slammed her head on the desk once Akashi announced the words she had begun to get tired hearing. They were stuck on a question for almost 15 minutes and both of their thread of patience were about to snap. The ravenette just can't seem to answer this one question on sets no matter how much the redhead explained the solution to her. It was like dejà vu. Akashi sighed to himself thinking that he had never encountered someone who can't even understand such an easy topic. Then again there were two people who at this level of idiocy when he was in middle school, he mused.

"like I said, you have to find U(A and B) first before you can get n(B)"

"how the heck do you even get U(A and B)..." a lifeless groan.

"be using the method I just taught you _again_ just now."

The girl murmured a 'that's exactly what I don't understand...' before lightly slamming her head on the desk, officially giving up. Unclear words were muttered in monotone as if to stress on the fact she's given up on everything under the category 'Maths'. Akashi sighed again, considering to just get out of the classroom and return to his dorm so that he could have some time to himself instead of spending it on someone who couldn't even get a simple method. But, it was his responsibility to make sure this girl here passes her math paper with excellent marks so he has to put up with everything. It felt like dealing with the Kiseki no Sedai during middle school. Tiring.

"Kurohara, do it again. You will definitely understand it." he commanded in a rather soft tone of voice.

"it sounds like something you said minutes ago..." she muttered.

"Kurohara, raise your head." The redhead said as he prompted his chin on his right palm and leaned just a little towards her. An expected silence from the other made the male call out to her again, though he hated having to repeat his words.

"Kurohara."

"what?" she hissed, her head jolting up from the position it was in before. "I told you I—"

She ceased her words when she saw the cold, but very much stunning, ruby and amber just inches away from her, pure surprise visible in them as they widened, just slightly, along with the blue orbs of hers. As if in a trance, their gazes didn't leave each other, not a word uttered, not a response given.

_Too close..._

Faint pink crept onto the pale cheeks of the female as she slowly came to a realization of the distance between them. Though she doesn't see him as a person that would cause her to produce such a reaction, this is a first for her to be in such close distance with a male. As it was a first experiance, she unconciously reacted in a way she wouldn't have if she had a choice.

"—let's return to the question, shall we"

Akashi suggested as he straightened his posture, creating a distance between them and breaking the silence that was created. A quiet agreement was given from the girl as she adverted her gaze away from him, the light blush not leaving her features. The redhead couldn't help but let an amused smile form on his lips as he found the rare display of emotion rather endearing. The way her eyes were lightly glaring at no one on her right and the way a small, and rather unnoticable frown, was on her face made her seem like a small child. It was an absolutely different display than anything she had ever shown to him.

"w- what's so funny?"

An unusual stutter in her question, her glare now directed towards Akashi. Seeing that smile on his face made her feel rather offended but at the same time, she found it rather...charming. He _is_ originally a good looking guy, even with that serious face of his— though she hates to admit it —so when he smiled, her heart honestly skipped a beat.

"no. It's nothing. Now, continue."

* * *

"everyone, to your seats now"

The students scurried to their seats as ordered by the teacher and in an instant, the entire classroom became silent. It was exam week. Time had passed quite faster than everyone thought and some hated that, as they didn't like exams, and the pressure it brought with it. The teacher distributed the exam papers and the exam started, only the ticking of the clock creating a melody to fill the silence in the class. The teacher observed the class, making sure no one was copying answers from each other or from text books.

_sleepy..._

Kurohara internally groaned as she tried to keep her eyes open, though she was failing on that. She pinched her arm to make her stay awake and she continued writing the answers on her paper. It wasn't like she slept late last night. In fact, she slept rather early. But a dream concerning a familiar redhead had kept her up the entire night. It wasn't that much of a weird dream— if you could count Akashi smiling normal —but the fact that he appeared in her dream bothered her enough to wake her up in the middle of the night and prevent her from returning to sleep, at the thought of it happening again.

_dammit...out of all the days life chose to give me a sleepless night..._

The first paper for today was maths. Thankfully, due to the few sessions of 'torture' from Akashi, she could answer most of the questions easily and that made up for the time she spent trying not to sleep. Though it was smooth sailing for a while, a question— which she prayed hard not to come out since she still hasn't been able to understand the way to solve it —just had to be the last question on the paper. If she could flip her desk right now, she would. The ravenette placed her chin on her palm and stared hard at the question, tapping her pencil lightly on the desk while she tried to figure out how to solve it.

Akashi, on the other hand, was long done with his paper, eyes fixed outside the window and his chin rested on his palm in boredom. In his opinion, the paper was too easy. It was as if the teachers didn't put any effort in making them. But, seeing how the other students were frowning as they wrote, it was clear that only he thought that way. The final question on the paper made him internally smirk really. He knew how Kurohara couldn't solve it— no matter how much he taught her the solution —so he was interested in what she would do.

The redhead— by plain curiosity on how she was doing —glanced at the girl in front of him. He was expecting her back to be hunched as she tried to figure out the solution but when he saw her peek over her shoulder, a light frown on her features which he could barely see as she silently looked his way, his eyes widened by a fraction, slightly surprised by her actions. When she realized he had noticed her looking, she instantly returned her attention to the paper, a faint colour of pink dusting her cheeks, the expression noticed by the observant redhead.

A smirk formed on his lips and he shifted his gaze back to the scenery outside the window, waiting for the exam period to be over. Little by little, she had been showing different expressions and emotions in his presence. It felt like as if she was slowly opening up to him, or just simply showing them unwillingly. The latter seemed more accurate. Though it was an unconfirmed fact, Akashi was content by being able to discover more hidden sides of her. _But..._

If she continues to reveal herself to him, he would also one day reveal himself to her. Sides which he keeps secret from those not involved would be known. _Secrets involving him..._

A silent sigh escaped his lips and he closed his eyes, pushing away the thoughts from before. It's something of the future. A future that might not occur and if it does he can change. He shouldn't let himself be occupied with it. But, you can never be too careful, can you..

* * *

Exams went by smoothly for the rest of the week and everyone was already looking forward to the short break the end of exams would bring. Most of them were planning to return home to visit their family who they haven't seen in a while and the rest, who didn't have plans to return, mostly decided to spend their time loitering in the streets of Kyoto. But before they could think of any of that, they have their results to worry about. If they get marks which don't live up to the standards of Rakuzan, they would have to stay back during the break to take supplementary classes and they honestly wouldn't want that so the students all crossed their fingers for good results once the week to receive their marks came. Well, almost all.

"Akashi-kun" the teacher called out, a wide smile on her face as she raised the exam paper for maths that she was returning. "as expected, you've got full marks"

Amazed whispers filled the class as the boy went to collect his paper from the teacher but Kurohara just scoffed. They already know he's an excellent student so why act amazed now?

"Kurohara-san"

The said girl lightly flinched when her name was called out. She didn't do the final question in the end and honestly, she had no confidence in getting good marks for the paper. Highest she expected was a B. She stood up, made way for Akashi to return to his seat, and walked over to the teacher, whose expression was rather unreadable. It was between holding back her joy and holding back her anger, to be honest, and Kurohara already felt a chill down her spine at her expression.

"Kurohara-san..." the teacher repeated once she stood infront of her. The girl blinked in confusion when she saw a wide smile on her teacher's face as she passed the paper. "congratulations. You've got the second highest marks for this paper~"

Her mouth gapped open in shock at the announcement and she robotically took the paper from her teacher, still trying to process what has just been said. The teacher was all in smiles— expressing how much she was happy at the improvement shown —and she dismissed the girl, who went back to her seat, before continuing to return the papers to the other student. Kurohara stared in disbelief at the paper she got and when the fact sank into her mind at last, she instantly turned to the boy behind her, as if wanting to know what he would say about it. Akashi look at her for a short moment, choosing which action he should take, before he reached out his hand and placed it on her head.

"good job"

Though his face looked emotionless as ever, his voice had a gentle tone to it and there was a trace of a smile on his features, but it went unnoticed. Her eyes widened at the sudden gesture— the scene of the two being in the classroom with their faces just inches apart resurfacing in her mind —and she instantly slapped his hand away— though in a more discreet way as the teacher was still in front —a barely noticable blush on her cheeks and her lips pressed together in a fine line along with the expression.

"w- what are you—!?"

"congratulating you for your accomplishment, of course."

She opened her mouth to retort but chose to keep it shut as she decided it would be pointless, and also childish. Kurohara let out a heavy sigh and faced the front once again, willing to look at the paper she managed to ace than Akashi's face another second more. Ever since the incident in the classroom, she hasn't been able to look at him in the eye without being reminded by the whole thing and blush. To be honest, it pisses her off. But there was nothing she could do to forget about it..

* * *

The bell rang and all the students happily exited their classes, as starting from tomorrow was the short break that they were looking forward to. The students went to their dorms and instantly started packing and calling their family, while the ones who weren't returning for a visit, took their own nonchalant time to made plans to hang out around town. That also didn't exclude the AkaKuro pair.

"does Akashi have any plans for the break?"

Kurohara asked, slinging her bag over her shoulder as she asked, making sure no eye contact was made between them. There was no reason behind her inquiry. Just a normal feeling of curiousity towards a classmate, is what she claims it to be. Akashi glanced at her before he headed for the door, the female following behind.

"nothing in particular."

"I see..."

She hummed as a response. As the two walked in silence towards the dorms, only the chatter of students creating noise around them, Akashi decided to make a small suggestion. A suggestion Kurohara never would have guessed he would make.

"Kurohara, tomorrow, shall we go on a date?"

* * *

_**Thanks fir reading!**_

_**p.s: I apologize if this seemed short/rushed and if Aka seemed rather ooc-**_


End file.
